Solis retains 108-pound championship with dramatic ending
Solis retains 108-pound championship with dramatic ending
By Matthew Aguilar @ ringside
05/08/2007
By Matthew Aguilar @ ringside
05/08/2007
Ulises Solis KO 8 Rodel Mayol... In a fight that started slow and escalated into fireworks, Ulises Solis knocked out Rodel Mayol with a picture-perfect left-right combination 1:13 into round eight to retain his IBF light flyweight championship. Two rounds before, it was Solis who found himself on the deck, courtesy of a beautiful Mayol left hook. However, referee John O’Brien failed to call it a knockdown, and the Filipino Mayol didn’t receive proper credit. He did hurt Solis with a right hand near the end of the round, and punished the Mexican on the ropes as the stanza drew to a close. Solis, 108, from Guadalajara, Mexico, recovered in the seventh, but was again staggered by a Mayol right hand. Mayol, 108, from Mandaue City, Philippines, remained aggressive, and was clearly looking for the knockout. But Solis turned the tables in the eighth, exploding with one of the more devastating punches of the year. Mayol got to his feet wobbly, and was clearly in no condition to continue. O’Brien promptly stopped the proceedings. Solis was ahead on all three cards at the time of the sudden ending. “He is a very hard puncher,” said Solis, 25-1-2 (19 KOs), who notched his third title defense and his third straight knockout victory. “I got hurt real bad. He got me with a real good right hand. I was really hurt. All I could think of in my mind was to keep fighting. Throw everything I had at him – and I caught him.” Mayol fell to 23-2 (18 KOs).